Game device



J. E MARKLE GAME DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 12 19.5.2

mi* --r- 6 l I I l J I l Oct. 3, v1933. v V E MARKLE l1,929,147

GAME DEVICE Filed Sept. l2, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2,

GAME DEVICE Filed Sept. 12, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 A @www Patented Oct.3, 1933, y

GAME DEVICE Jacob E. Markle, Nashville, '.lenn.` I

Application September 12, 1932 Serial No. 632,808

9 Claims.. (ol. zia-fiel) This invention relates to games and hasspecial reference to a ball and pocket game apparatus.

One important object of the invention is to provide a novel gameapparatus involving theelement of chance wherein a projected ball dropstlnally into one of an annular series of ball receiving openings and isthere held.

A second important object of the invention is to provide novel means forreleasing the ball 10 from the pocket into 'which it has fallen.

A third important object of the invention is to provide, in such a game,two sets of hazard ball receiving openings arranged together to form acircular series, the ball receiving openings of one set being spaced atintervals'between the ball receiving openings of the other set.

A fourth important object of the invention is to provide independentreleasing means for each set of ball receiving openings whereby a vball2 held in any one ofthe ball receiving openings of a respective set isreleased for replay upon actua-y tion of the releasing means appurtenantto the respective set of ball receiving openings.

A fth important object of the invention is to provide a check or coincontrol whereby one of the two releasing means may be actuated only bythe insertion of a check or coin.

With the above and other objects in view as will be hereinafterapparent, the invention con-- .30 sists in general of certain noveldetails of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specificallyclaimed.

In the accompanying drawings like characters of reference indicate likeparts in the several views, and':

Figure l is a plan'view of the improved game board, the parts belowbeing indicated in dotted lines.

' o Figure 2 is an inverted plan view of the portion-of the board havingball receiving openings and showing certain parts of the releasemechanism.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 oi Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a detail section on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail section on the line 5-5 of Figure 1, someparts behind the section plane being omitted to avoid confusion.

Figure 6 is a detail section on the line 6-6 of Figure l.l

Figure 7 is a detail section on the line 7-7 of Figure 1. p

Figure 8 is an enlarged section on the line 8-8 of Figure '7.

Figurev 9 is an enlarged view of a portion of the V board in plan andshowing some of thel ball receiving openings and associated dicerepresentations.

In the embodiment of the invention here shown'eo there is provideda..boxlike casing 10 in the forward end of which is mounted a board l1forming a closure for this end of the casing. To the rear of the closure11 a casing top or closure 12 is provided which carries the playingileld andover a5 these two closures extends a glass plate 13 coveringthe playing eldand preventing tampering therewith. The board 12 isprovided with a large centrally disposed circular opening 14.

Beneath the .board 12 is supported an outer Pmn annular bowl me'mber 15having a dished upper surfacel and being rabbeted at its inner peripheryto' support the inner bowl member 17. This inner bowl member 17 is ofsubstantially frustoconical form and adjacent its periphery is providedwith a circular series of spaced openings 18 f forming ball pockets.Since both the inner and outer bowl members slopeto the ball receivingopenings 18 a ball in the circular valley formed b`y the upper surfacesof bowl members will roll down into one of these ball -receivingopenings.

Through the iront wall of the casing 10 there extends the shank 19 of aplunger 20 visible from above through a slot 21 formed in the board 11.g5 This shank is provided on its outer end with an operating knob 22 andthe plunger is urged into forward positionby a spring 23 coiled aroundthe shank 19. The ball 24 normally rests against the face of theplunger'at the beginning of play. 90 Beneath the boards 11 and 12 thereis provided' a delivery or iiring chute 25 which has a oor inclinedupwardly from beneath the plunger 20 to a slot 26 in the board 12 whichforms adelivery mouth opening into the valley of the bowl at its outerperiphery. When the plunger is pulled out and suddenly released the ball24 rolls up the inclined delivery chute and 'into the valley of the bowlwhere it spins around a number of times and iinally settles into one ofthe ball receiving openings 18 where it is retained by means now to bedescribed.

Pivoted centrally to the under side of the inner bowl member 17 is adisk 2'7 which carries on its periphery a series of radial pins 28 eachof which 105 lies normally beneath the center of a respective ballreceiving opening 18. These pins form a circular series but are notequalin number to. the number of ball receiving openings 18, there beingno pins 28 for certain of these pockets. As 110 .here shown in Figure 2there are six evenly spaced ball receiving openings 18 for which no pins28 are provided and, for reasons which will be presently clear, it ispreferred to call the ball receiving openings-with which the pins 28 areassociated the point" ball receiving openings and the six other ballreceiving openings the "crap ball receiving openings. vPivoted to theunderside ofthemember lbisabellcranktlllhavingone arm connected byailink 30 with the disk 27. The other arm of this bell crank isconnected by a link 31 with one arm of a bell crank 32 pivoted at theforward end of the casing 10 and having its other arm projecting througha slot 33 in the casing and provided with an operating knob 34.y Aspring 35 normally holds the bell crank 32 with the knob 34 inraised-position and. whenthus held, the pins 28 will lie centrallybeneath the respective point ball receiving openings 18. By pressingdown the knob 34 the mechanism just described acts to rotate the disk 27so as to move the pins 28 out of alignment with the point ball receivingopenings t18 `and thus to release the ball if it happens to be in one ofsaid point ball receiving openings. A stop screw 36 limits the movementof the bell crank 32 in one direction and an adjustable stop screw 37limits the movement of the bell crank 32 in the other direction.

Fixed in the under side of the outer bowl member l5 and spaced equallyfrom its center are certain screw posts 38 in each of which is mounted aroller 39 having a flange 40 at its lower end. A rotatable ring 41 issupported on these anges between the roller and projecting inwardly fromthis ring are pins 42 eachr of which normally lies below the center of arespective crap ball receiving opening 18. 'Ihus those ball receivingopenings which are not provided with pins 28 have the pins 42 beneaththem. Mounted on the bottom of the casing l0 is a post 43 whereon ispivoted. intermediate its ends, a lever 44 and one arm of this lever isconnected by a link 45 with the ring so that oscillation of the levereffects oscillation of the ring 42 about its center. The other arm ofthis lever carries an upstanding finger 46 which lies in the path of theslide member 47 of a coin control 48. Since the specific construction ofthis coin control forms no part of the present invention and since it isnot desired that this` present invention be restricted to the use of anyparticular specific construction it is not deemed necessary here toillustrate or describe such specific construction. It may be said,however, that the spring 49 normally holds the slide in forward positionand that only on the deposit of a coin can the slide be pushed back toengage the finger 46 and actuate the lever 44. Under these circumstancesit will be seen that, if the ball be in one of the crap ball receivingopenings, it can only be released upon deposition of a coin and pushingthe slide 47 in. When the slide has been thus pushed in the coin willdrop through the coin chute 50 and into any convenient receptacle (notshown).

Beneath the ball receiving openings 18 is a receiving tray 51 into'whichthe ball drops when released from the ball receiving opening in which ithas come to rest. This tray inclines downward from rear to front and hasside walls 52 which converge forwardly and are curved to form adeliveryrack which opens into the firing chute 25 through a port 53.

A spring 54 has one end connected to the front wall ofthe casing 10 andthel other to the nnge;

46 so that the latter is held forwardly until pushed back by the slide47. A stop 55 is provided to limit this forward movement of the lever44.

Mounted on a post 56 is a bearing sleeve 57. wherethrough extends a rockshaft 58. An arm 59 is carried by one end of the shaft and lies in thepath of the slide 47, being inclined forwardly so as to be engaged bysaid slide prior to its eni gagement with the finger 46. This arm ,59 isyieldably held in forwardly inclined position by the spring 60. In orderto limit the forward movement of the arm 59 a collar 61 is held on -theshaft by along`setscrew 62 in the path of which is xed a stop 63. Onthis shaft 58, which extends across the lower part of thetray is mounteda gate 64 which, when the slide 47 is pushed in. swings down to preventthe e of the ball to the nring chute but normally doesnotinterferewithsuch u On each radial line extending from the center ofthe bowl through the respective ball reiving opening is therepresentation 65 of the plan viewofapairofdiceasshowninFigurei). Thusassociated with each ball receiving opening is a number represented bythe die, these numbers running from two to twelve inclusive. Becauseofthe necessity of using a small scale in Figure l the dice faces arenot there shown but are replaced by Arabic numerals as at 66corresponding to the numerical values of such dice. The design of thecomplete arrangement of the dice may be seen in my DesignPatent No.87,930. It will be observed that the numeral 7 is associated in eachinstance with one of the ball receiving openings controlled by the ring41, all of these crap ball receiving openings being numbered "7. f f

The board is used in the following manner. One of the players shoots theball. If it falls into a pocket having the numerical value "7 or 11 heat once wins. If it falls into a ball receiving opening having any othernumerical value he notes the numberwhich becomes his "point". He thenreleases the ball and plays again, continuing to release and replaytheball until it drops into a ball receiving opening having his pointvalue or into a f7 or crap ball receiving opening. If he makes the pointhe wins, releases the ball and starts over, continuing tov play eachturn out until the ball drops into a crap ball receiving opening whilehe is trying to make a point whereupon he loses and the next playertakes his turn. 0f course, each time a 7 is made a coin must bedeposited to permit the release of the ball.

It should be noted that the gate 64 serves to prevent the slide beingheld in, the 7 ball receiving openings open and the game played becausethe gate holds the ball from passing to the system for the ballreceiving openings as will also the ring 41 and its pins 42.

'I'here has thus been provided a simple and 145 efllcient device of thekind described and for the purpose specified. I l

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form andconstruction of the invention Without departing from the material spiritthereof. It is not, therefore, desired to confine the invention to theexact form herein shown and described, but itis desired to include allsuch as properly come within the scope claimed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A game board having a circular valley therein and provided with acircular series of spaced ball receiving openingsv at the bottom of, thevalley, said ball receiving openings being arranged in a plurality ofsets, independent gate means for each of said sets to prevent thepocketed balls from passing through said openings, and ball projectionmeans arranged to project a ball around the upper outer part of thevalley whereby it may travel around the valley and iinally drop into aball receiving opening. i

2. A game board having a circular valley therein and provided with acircular series'of spaced ball receiving openings at the bottom of thevalley, said ball receiving openings being arranged in a plurality ofsets, independent gate means for each of said sets to prevent thepocketed balls from passing through said openings, ball projection meansarranged to project a ball around the upper'outer part of the valleywhereby it may travel around the valley and finally drop into a ballreceiving opening, and independent operating means for each gate means,one of said operating means being coin controlled.

3. A game board having a circular valley therein and provided with acircular series of spaced ball receiving openings at the bottom` ofthe'v valley, said ball receiving openings being arranged'in a pluralityof sets, independent gate means foreach of said sets to form pockets andto prevent' the pocketed balls from passing through said openings, ballprojection means arranged to project a ball around the upper outer partof the valley whereby it may travel around the valley and nally dropinto a ball receiving opening, means beneath the pockets to receive theball from the pocket in which it has.

dropped, delivery means for delivering the ball from the last mentionedmeans to the projection means, independent operating means for each gatemeans, one of said operating means being coin controlled, and furthergate means associated with the delivery means to restrain and permitmovement of a ball therethrough, said last gate means being operablyassociated with the coin controlled operating means to open fully onlywhen Athe latter is in normal position.

4. A game board having a circular valley therein and provided with acircular series of spaced ball receiving openings at the bottom of saidvalley, projection means for projecting a ball around the outer upperpart of the valley whereby the ball may travel around the valley andfinally drop into a ball receiving opening, rotary means below the levelof and concentric to the series of ball receiving openings, pinsprojecting from said rotary means and normally located transversecertain of the ball receiving openings, a second rotary means similarlylov pins carried thereby out of registry with their associated ballreceiving openings.

5. A game board having a circular valley therein and provided with acircular series of spaced ball receiving openings at the bottom of saidvalley, projection means. for projecting a ball around the outer upperpart of the valley whereby the ball may travel around the valley andfinally drop into a'ball receiving opening, rotary means below the levelof and concentric to the series of ball receiving openings, pinsprojecting from said rotary means and normally located transversecertain of thel ball receiving openings, a second rotary meanssimilarly. lcated, pins on the second rotary means projecting' therefromand normally located transverse the remainder of the ball receivingopenings,

said pins serving to prevent the pocketed balls from passing throughsaid openings, independent operating means for each of said rotary meansto shift the same and move the pins carried thereby out of registry withtheir associated ball receiving openings, and one of said operatingmeans being coin controlled.

6. A game board having a circular valley therein and provided with acircular series of spaced ball receiving openings at the bottom of saidvalley, projection means for projecting a ball around the outer upperpart of the valley Whereby the ball may travel around the valley andfinally drop into a ball receiving opening, rotary means below the levelof and concentric to the series of ball receiving openings, pinsprojecting from said rotary means and normally located transversecertain of the ball receiving openings to form pockets, a second rotarymeans similarly located, pins on the second rotary means projectingtherefrom and normally located transverse the remainder of the ballreceiving openings, ,said pins serving to prevent the pocketed ballsfrom passing through said openings, independent operating meansfor eachof said rotary means to shift the same and move the pins carried therebyout of registry with their associated ball receiving openings, one ofsaid operating means being coin controlled, means beneath the pockets toreceive the ball from the pockets in which it has dropped, deliverymeans for delivering the ball from the last mentioned means and theprojection means,

and further gate means associated with the delivery means to restrainand permit movement of a ball therethrough, said last gate means beingoperably associated with the coin controlled operating means to openfully only when the latter is innormal position.

'LA game board having an inclined surface provided with a series ofspaced ball receiving openings, means to project a ball onto the upperpart of said surface, gate means associated with certain of said ballreceiving openings to hold a ball releasably therein, other similar gatemeans associated with the remainder of said ball receiving openings, andindependent operating means for each of said gate means.

8. A game board having an inclined surface provided with a series ofspaced ball receiving openings, means to project a ball onto the upperpart of said surface, gate means associated with certain of said ballreceiving openings to hold a ball releasably' therein, other similargate means associated with the remainder of said ball receivingopenings, independent operating means for each of said gate means, andone of said operating means being coin controlled.

9. A game board having an inclined surface provided with a series ofspaced ball receiving ceive theball from the pocket'in which it hasdropped, delivery means for delivering the' bali from the last'mentionedmeans to the projection means, and further gate means associated withthe delivery means to restrain and permit movement of a balitherethrough, said last gate means being operably associated with thecoin controlled operating means to open fully only when thedlatter is innormal position.

JACOB E. MARKLE.

